After a senior bishop described the Archbishop of Canterbury’s position in Lambeth Palace as “untenable”, GB News asks its members if now is the time for Justin Welby to step down.
Welby, 68, who replaced Rowan Williams as England’s leader clergyman in 2013, is under growing pressure to leave Lambeth Palace over a sex abuse scandal concerning John Smyth.
An independent review released last week found that Welby’s failure to act on concerns about Smyth meant the Church’s most prolific serial child abuser was never brought to justice.
The report, authored by former social services director Keith Makin, concluded that Smyth’s abuse could have been exposed earlier if the archbishop had contacted authorities.
The review stated: “On the balance of probabilities, it is the opinion of the reviewers that it was unlikely that Justin Welby would have had no knowledge of the concerns regarding John Smyth in the 1980s in the UK.”
While Welby may not have known the “extreme seriousness” of the abuse, the report found it “most probable” he had “at least a level of knowledge” about concerns regarding Smyth.
Rt Rev Helen-Ann Hartley, the Bishop of Newcastle, piled pressure on Welby by urging him to quit.
Speaking to the BBC, Bishop Hartley said: “It’s very hard to find the words to respond adequately to what the report tells us.
Justin Welby is facing calls to quitPA“I think rightly people are asking the question: Can we really trust the Church of England to keep us safe? And I think the answer at the moment is no.”
A petition demanding the archbishop’s resignation, initiated by three members of the Church of England’s General Synod, has gained support from numerous high-profile priests.
Political leaders have remained cautious on the matter, with Sir Keir Starmer not offering support for the archbishop.
When questioned about the archbishop’s position, the Prime Minister said: “Thats a matter really for the church rather than for me.”
Despite mounting pressure, Archbishop Welby has rejected calls to resign over his handling of the scandal.
A Lambeth Palace spokesman said Welby “had no awareness or suspicion of the allegations before he was told in 2013 – and therefore having reflected, he does not intend to resign.”
The spokesman added: “The archbishop reiterates his horror at the scale of John Smyth’s egregious abuse, as reflected in his public apology.
“He has apologised profoundly both for his own failures and omissions, and for the wickedness, concealment, and abuse by the Church more widely.”
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